Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup: Best team, dates, more

❘ Updated: 2023-08-18T11:59:22

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The much-anticipated Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup is back in the Ultra League and players can’t wait to try out the best species and earn victories in this popular PvP tournament. So, here’s everything you need to know about the Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup Ultra League Edition, including the schedule and best PvP species to use.

Pokemon Go has an amazing competitive scene and it has gathered more attention after the Pokemon World Championships 2023. Currently, players are testing their PvP skills in the usual formats of the Go Battle League. However, a well-known tournament has made its return to the Ultra League.

The Fantasy Cup Ultra League Edition is one of the most challenging PvP tournaments as it allows only Steel, Fairy, and Dragon Pokemon in battles. As these three are some of the most powerful Pokemon types, players need to prepare the best species to ensure wins in this format.

Here are all the details on the schedule and the best species to use in the Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup Ultra League Edition.

Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup date & time
Best Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup species
Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup best team

Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup date & time

The Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup will run from August 17, 2023, at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET / 9 PM BST till August 24, 2023, at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET / 9 PM BST

You should note that this special Ultra League format will be featured alongside Master League in the Go Battle League.

Best Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup species

Here are the best PvP Pokemon you can use in the Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup:

Registeel

Registeel can work as a lead as well as a closer.

Weaknesses: Fighting, Ground, Fire
Resistances: Normal, Flying, Rock, Bug, Steel, Grass, Psychic, Ice, Dragon, Fairy, Poison
Best moveset: Lock-On and Focus Blast / Zap Cannon

Registeel is one of the best Legendary Pokemon to use in PvP. It is particularly amazing in the Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup format as it resists both Fairy and Dragon-type attacks. This lets Registeel check some of the most powerful species in this tournament.

Lock-On helps Registeel quickly generate energy and reach its powerful Charged Moves like Focus Blast and/or Zap Cannon quickly. Thanks to Lock-On’s excellent energy gains, Registeel can even destroy fellow Steel-types with the dreaded Focus Blast.

Tapu Fini

Tapu Fini is not weak to Steel-type attacks despite being a Fairy-type.

Weaknesses: Electric, Grass, Poison
Resistances: Dragon, Bug, Dark, Fighting, Fire, Ice, Water
Best moveset: Water Gun and Surf / Moonblast

Tapu Fini is an extremely strong species for the Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup as it excels both on offense and defense. It can deal super-effective damage to Dragon-types with Moonblast while heavily resisting their attacks. Moreover, it can dish out high STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) neutral damage against Steel types with Water Gun and Surf.

What sets Tapu Fini apart from other Fairy-types is its ability to not take super-effective damage from Steel-types. This makes Tapu Fini easy to fit into any Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup team.

Giratina Altered

Giratina Altered is the leading attacker in any Ultra League format.

Weaknesses: Dark, Dragon, Fairy, Ghost, Ice
Resistances: Fighting, Normal, Bug, Electric, Fire, Grass, Poison, Water
Best moveset: Shadow Claw and Dragon Claw / Ancient Power

Giratina (Altered) is a top-notch species in Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup even though the nerf to Ancient Power doesn’t let it beat Togekiss and other Flying-types as reliably as before. That said, this Legendary Pokemon is still a deadly threat in PvP thanks to its offensive coverage and huge bulk.

Shadow Claw is one of the best Fast Moves in Pokemon Go PvP and it pairs perfectly with Dragon Claw to apply shield pressure on opponents. Moreover, a lucky stat boost from Ancient Power can make Giratina (Altered) almost unbeatable.

Giratina (Altered) also offers near-perfect neutral coverage against every species in the Fantasy Cup. This Pokemon is strongly recommended for any Ultra League team, and it can be used at any time of the battle.

Dragonite

Dragonite is good at baiting shields.

Weaknesses: Fairy, Dragon, Ice, Rock
Resistances: Bug, Fighting, Fire, Ground, Grass, Water
Best moveset: Dragon Breath and Dragon Claw / Superpower

The Pseudo Legendary from Gen 1 is still a powerful species in Pokemon Go PvP. In the Fantasy Cup, it’s the only Dragon-type that can do super-effective damage to Steel-types by using Superpower. It can also beat other Dragons with Dragon Breath and Dragon Claw as these two moves can be used frequently in battles.

But players need to note that Dragonite can hardly do any damage to Fairy-types in the Fantasy Cup so we recommended switching it out whenever you are up against a Fairy Pokemon.

Melmetal

Melmetal was introduced to the franchise through Pokemon Go.

Weaknesses: Fire, Ground, Fighting
Resistances: Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Ice, Normal, Poison, Psychic, Rock, Steel
Best moveset: Thunder Shock and Double Iron Bash / Superpower

Melmetal is one of the most widely used Pokemon in PvP and it particularly excels in the Fantasy Cup. Thunder Shock gives its quick energy gains and lets it spam Double Iron Bash against Fairy and Dragon-types, and Superpower against Steel-types.

Melmetal has 11 resistances and an impressive HP stat of 264, letting it tank almost every hit. You can fit Melmetal into any team and also use it at any time of the battle. This makes Melmetal one of the most versatile species in the Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup. Players should note that Melmetal can learn Double Iron Bash only through an Elite Charged TM.

Xerneas

Xerneas got access to its signature move Geomancy in August 2023.

Weaknesses: Poison, Steel
Resistances: Bug, Dragon, Dark, Fighting
Best moveset: Geomancy and Moonblast / Close Combat

Xerneas has the highest Attack stat of any Fairy-type in the Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup. With access to Geomancy, it can completely wall Dragon Pokemon and beat them easily with Moonblast. Close Combat lets Xerneas tackle Steel-types but you should use it carefully as it debuffs the Defense stat f Xerneas by two stages.

We recommend using Xerneas in the middle or end of the battle, especially when the opponent no longer has shields. If you are unable to switch out, you should try to use Moonblast as it offers a 10% chance to debuff the opponent’s Attack stat by one stage.

Lucario

Lucario can continuously increase its Attack stat throughout the battle.

Weaknesses: Fighting, Fire, Ground
Resistances: Bug, Dragon, Dark, Grass, Ice, Normal, Poison, Rock, Steel
Best moveset: Counter and Power-Up Punch / Shadow Ball

Lucario is an iconic species and is also a solid pick for the Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup. Counter is one of the best Fast Moves in PvP and Lucario punishes Steel-types with this move. With Power-Up Punch, Lucario can increase its Attack stat and deal more damage with Counter.

Shadow Ball is an excellent second Charged Move as it has great neutral coverage and can also knock out Fairy and Dragon Pokemon even after one boost from Power-Up Punch.

Excadrill

Excadrill’s moves give it perfect type coverage.

Weaknesses: Fighting, Fire, Ground, Water
Resistances: Bug, Electric, Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Normal, Poison, Psychic, Rock, Steel
Best moveset: Mud Shot and Drill Run / Rock Slide

Excadrill is one of the most underrated PvP species and it does extremely well in the Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup because of its high Attack stat of 255, and its excellent moveset. Mud Shot gives it high energy gains, letting Excadrill spam Drill Run to eliminate Steel-types and deal high damage to Fairy as well as Dragon-types.

Rock Slide is very useful to tear off chunks of HP from Flying-types, especially Dragonite. Excadrill can not only offer high damage potential but it is also one of the best Pokemon to bait shields in PvP.

Turtonator

Turtonator is the only Dragon-type that can beat both Fairy and Steel Pokemon.

Weaknesses: Dragon, Ground, Rock
Resistances: Bug, Electric, Fire, Grass, Steel
Best moveset: Incinerate and Overheat / Dragon Pulse

Turtonator is a fantastic addition to the Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup because of its type combination of Fire and Dragon. With this, it is not weak to Fairy-type attacks and can also resist Steel-types in battle. Incinerate offers great damage as well as quick energy generation to help Turtonator use Overheat, one of the strongest Fire-type Charged Moves in PvP. Overheat can knock out both Steel and Fairy Pokemon easily.

Turtonator should preferably be switched out against Dragon Pokemon unless you have already charged up a Dragon Pulse. In the Fantasy Cup, Turtonator is an excellent lead that can be switched out and used as a closer as well.

Escavalier

Escavalier is only weak to Fire-type attacks.

Weaknesses: Fire
Resistances: Bug, Dragon, Grass, Fairy, Ice, Normal, Poison, Psychic, Steel
Best moveset: Counter and Drill Run / Megahorn

Escavalier resists all moves in the Pokemon Go Fantasy Cup and is good at getting rid of Steel-types in battle. The combination of Counter and Drill Run alone can take out most Pokemon in this format. Even species like Turtonator that can go head-to-head with Escavalier can be beaten with Drill Run. Megahorn is a powerful PvP Charged Move that gets STAB and should be reserved for the end of the battle.